Placed by older authors in the family Liliaceae, they are now regarded by modern taxonomy (for example the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group) as members of the family Melanthiaceae.
Zigadenus venenosus (called ałtsíniitsoh, literally "big mariposa lily") was used by the Navajo for coyote bites.
Zigadenus elegans Pursh occures in the following states: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming
View 107 genera in Liliaceae, 15 species in Zigadenus or click below on a thumbnail map or name for species profiles.
Zigadenus (or Zygadenus) is most likely from the Greek zygos, which means "a yoke" and aden, meaning "a gland"; referring to the fact that the glands sometimes occur in pairs.
Elegans id from the Latin word for "elegant", referring to the showy flowers.
The currently accepted scientific name of meadow deathcamas is Zigadenus venenosus S.
Makeiff, Darren; Majak, Walter; McDiarmid, Ruth E.; Reaney, Bourke; Benn, Michael H. Determination of zygacine in Zigadenus venenosus (death camas) by image analysis on thin layer chromatography.
Tepedino, V. Effects of defoliation on reproduction of a toxic range plant, Zigadenus paniculatus.
Non-occurrence of a plant in an indicated area is difficult to document, but we will especially value your input on those types of possible errors (see automatic conversion of distribution data to maps).
Retrieve Jepson Interchange Index to Plant Names entry for Zigadenus
Overlay UC/JEPS specimen data by county on this map
Liliaceae: Zigadenus nuttallii (zoom) - Plant in flower; at the 'Mesa' - Lick Creek Park, College Station (Brazos County), Texas (site overview) - photo: Hugh Wilson
Liliaceae: Zigadenus nuttallii - Native, from Navasota Flora.
